Zeren Earls
Bio:
A travel writer, Zeren Earls is a native of Turkey, who came to the United States in the late 50s for her college education. She studied psychology at Duke University, where she met her late husband, composer/media artist Paul Earls. Her immersion in the art world through her husband while a fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT, led to her involvement in First Night in 1976. She was among the initial organizers of the Boston event and became its director in 1980. Pursuant to the event's major growth under her direction, she moved on to found First Night International in 1994. After assisting many communities in the US and abroad in initiating the First Night Celebration, she retired in 2002. Since then she has turned to adventure traveling and writing. Each year she travels to a country that is culturally new to her, China, Egypt, India, Morocco and Vietnam to name a few. In addition to her travels she has been writing her life story.
Recent Articles:
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Czech Republic: Part One Travel
Prague
By: - Jun 03rd, 2014Prague is a dynamic city blending great architecture, culture and cuisine. It has a vibrant, modern life set within a fairy tale environment of Gothic cathedrals, Baroque castles, Medieval gates, stone towers, and ornate bridges that link the banks of the picturesque Vltava River. Its maze of worn cobblestone streets is a joy to explore.
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Colombia: Part Three Travel
Cartagena
By: - Apr 17th, 2014A city with a unique blend of African, Spanish and indigenous cultures, Cartagena enchants. It has meticulously renovated colonial buildings, cobbled plazas and a shimmering waterfront. A lively street life with horse-drawn carriages, side-walk cafes and Caribbean rhythms after dark enhance the city's charm.
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Colombia: Part Two Travel
Medellin and the Coffee Triangle
By: - Apr 08th, 2014After decades of challenges by the drug cartels, Medellin has reinvented itself as a modern, innovative and lively hub with style. The superbly scenic Coffee Triangle is a region of lush green valleys dotted by picturesque colonial towns and age-old haciendas. Not to be missed is the Cocora Valley with endemic soaring wax palms.
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Colombia: Part One Travel
Bogota
By: - Apr 01st, 2014After decades of conflict Colombia is emerging toward a bright future. It is a beautiful country with spectacular landscapes, ranging from Andean peaks to rolling hills and sandy beaches. Bogota, its capital, is a sophisticated, multi-ethnic city with distinct colonial architecture, world-class museums and one of a kind attractions.
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Bolivia Travel
La Paz and Copacabana
By: - Mar 25th, 2014Past problems behind, Bolivia is a new country under the leadership of its first indigenous leader, Evo Morales. Fast developing in tourism, it attracts with vistas of snow-capped mountains, lush rolling hills, bustling cities, and colorful native populations. La Paz is the country's largest city; Copacabana its most picturesque at the crest of the world's highest navigable Lake Titicaca.
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Fernando Botero Seen in Bogota Fine Arts
Colombia's Living Treasure
By: - Mar 17th, 2014Botero's art permeates Bogota's and Medellin's major museums and plazas with overwhelming grandeur and sensuality. Contrasting giant and dwarf figures, sometimes with underlying satire, the artist creates voluptuous exuberance that charms and captivates.
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Istanbul Biennial 13th Edition Fine Arts
Conjuring Art out of Socio-Politics
By: - Oct 14th, 2013Biennial's reputation as a guardian of freedom has been compromised due to political unrest over Istanbul's Gezi Park in May. Limited with their interventions outdoors, artists take on urban issues within indoor venues.
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Uzbekistan: Part Three Travel
Khiva and Fergana Valley
By: - Oct 09th, 2013Khiva is the most remote and intact medieval town in Central Asia. Passing through the gates of the crenelated clay walls offers a journey back in time. The fertile Fergana Valley, home to 1/3 of the population, harbors the towns of Margilon, Rishtan and Kokand, each famed for an ancient craft or historic monument.
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Uzbekistan: Part Two Travel
Shakhrisabz and Bukhara
By: - Sep 30th, 2013Tamerlane's hometown Shakhrisabz preserves a rich history of architecture. Bukhara, the Holy City on the Royal Silk Road fascinates with a multitude of mosques, madrassahs and mausoleums. Many of the historic buildings are now restored museums and craft workshops, which provide a unique setting for carpets, ceramics, textiles, metal work and wood carvings.
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Uzbekistan: Part One Travel
Tashkent and Samarkand
By: - Sep 21st, 2013The fertile oases across Uzbekistan have attracted great conquerors in history, each leaving an architectural legacy along the fabled Silk Road. On this ancient trade route the cities of Tashkent and Samarkand shimmer with turquoise domes and spectacular mosaics. The cities also brim with exceptional crafts, fashioned out of silk, wood, metal and ceramics.
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MFA's Sacred Pages: Conversations About the Qur'an Fine Arts
Art of the Islamic Spiritual World
By: - Aug 06th, 2013Sacred Pages: Conversations about the Qur'an, currently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, is a unique exhibition that gives voice to members of Boston's Islamic community while highlighting the artistic beauty of objects on display. 25 loose Qur'an pages from the museum's collection, which date from the 8th to the 20th century, have two labels each ─ a curatorial statement and a personal response from the participants, providing a window into Islam and Islamic art.
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Chile and Argentina: Part Three Travel
Chilean Fjords, Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn
By: - Apr 18th, 2013Cruising southernmost Patagonia around the channels and fjords that border the Tierra del Fuego archipelago and Cape Horn is an electrifying experience. Majestic mountains, towering glaciers and charming colonies of coastal birds portray indelible images.
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Chile and Argentina: Part Two Travel
Buenos Aires, El Calafate and Patagonia
By: - Apr 07th, 2013The capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires is a twenty-four-hour city with colorful neighborhoods, fashionable districts, and a vibrant cultural life. El Calafate is the gateway to Patagonia, the southernmost part of South America both in Argentina and Chile. It is a vast land of national parks, towering mountains, pristine lakes, and large glaciers.
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Chile and Argentina: Part one Travel
Santiago de Chile and Easter Island
By: - Mar 30th, 2013At the crest of the high Andes, Santiago is a bustling, international city with architectural treasures and cultural attractions. Easter Island, Chile's Pacific outpost, fascinates with Polynesian lore, impressive large stone statues and volcanic natural wonders.
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Touring Carnivals in Europe Travel
Part Two: Nice, Tenerife, Binche, Aalst, Viareggio
By: - Jan 10th, 2013The Carnival in Nice is a lavish show with a seafront parade of beautiful floats decorated with cut flowers. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival ends with the burial of a giant paper mache sardine by the sea. Binche and Aalst Carnivals of Belgium are loyal to tradition, offering unforgettable moments in anonymity. Viareggio Carnival is a seafront show of colossal proportions , poking fun at authority with biting satire.
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Touring Carnivals Europe and Americas Travel
Part One: Trinidad, Quebec, Venice, and Basel
By: - Jan 07th, 2013Dating back to the Middle Ages, Carnival, meaning "farewell to flesh" in Latin, is a celebration that marks the beginning of Lent. Each one is unique based on the tradition, culture, and climate of the country where it is observed. During the years I directed First Night Boston I attended nine carnivals to glean ideas for community involvement. The events were delightful, enchanting, and inspirational.
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Treasures of Edinburgh Fine Arts
Scottish National Galleries
By: - Jun 13th, 2012The city of Edinburgh is immersed in Art. Among its many museums the three National Galleries stand out with their architecture, vast collections, and special exhibitions. They all engage, enlighten, and fascinate.
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Tanzania: Part Four Travel
Ngorongoro Crater and Karatu
By: - Mar 29th, 2012A volcanic bowl, Ngorongoro is a wildlife refuge, where over 20,000 animals live year-round. The Crater's floor of open grassland, dotted with animals big and small against a backdrop of mountains, is a sight to behold. Karatu is the major village in the Highlands, which provides fantastic views of the crater, along with an array of lodges for visitors.
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Tanzania: Part Three Travel
Olduvai Gorge and Serengeti National Park
By: - Mar 23rd, 2012Man's first footsteps were printed in Olduvai's volcanic ash. This weathered land extends to the Serengeti Plains, which with its multitude and diversity of wildlife against a spectacular African landscape is a feast for the eye.
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Tanzania: Part Two Travel
Arusha and Tarangire National Park
By: - Mar 16th, 2012Arusha, the major city in northeastern Tanzania, is base camp for most safaris in the region's famous game reserves and tribal communities. Tarangire National Park, named after the shallow river, which passes through it, attracts huge numbers of game sustained by the river, as well as an impressive number and diversity of birds.
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Tanzania: Part One Travel
Kilimanjaro Foothills
By: - Mar 12th, 2012Camping within the Masai's 45,000-acre game reserve that runs along Tanzania's and Kenya's shared border was an unforgettable experience. Here, below the impressive landscape of mountains, genuinely primitive people and animals share the boundless wilderness.
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Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT Fine Arts
Celebrating a Remarkable Legacy
By: - Dec 21st, 2011Artist and educator Gyorgy Kepes, who championed an integrated vision of our world, using all our faculties to assimilate with "the scientist's brain, the poet's heart and the painter's eyes," played a key role in bringing art to MIT. Kepes's legacy through the Center for Advanced Visual Studies he founded was recently celebrated by the artist fellows and followers of the program.
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Dream and Reality at Istanbul Modern Fine Arts
A Celebration of Woman Artists of Turkey
By: - Oct 31st, 2011Via an impressive historical overview of Turkish woman artists, the exhibition highlights the changes from empire to republic to today's vibrant contemporary art scene in Turkey. Curated by Levent Çalιkoglu of Istanbul Modern, feminist academic and activist Fatmagül Berktay, and art historians Zeynep Ãnankur and Burcu Pelvanoglu, the exhibition takes its title from the 1891 novel, Dream and Reality, coauthored by Fatma Aliye Topuz, the first female Turkish novelist, and Ahmet Mithat, a male journalist. The show runs to January 22, 2012.
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Istanbul Biennial Fine Arts
An Outstanding 12th Edition
By: - Oct 24th, 2011Istanbul is up there with Venice and Sao Paulo among the art biennials that matter. The 2011 edition explores the relationship between art and politics. Aesthetically pleasing, it is a sophisticated, rewarding show, which runs to November 13.
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Istanbul Exhibition at santralistanbul Main Gallery Fine Arts
20 Modern Turkish Artists of the 20th century
By: - May 31st, 2011The current exhibition at santralistanbul is a significant addition to the city's vibrant art scene. Known for its historical landmarks, Istanbul is fast becoming a destination to view modern and contemporary art. This exhibition is extended through July 31.
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